Personal Injury Compensation
NHS restructuring
R (on the application of Save our Surgery Ltd) v Joint Committee of Primary Care Trusts 2013
Counsel: For the claimant: Philip Havers QC, Jeremy HyamFor the defendant: Dinah Rose QC, Marina WheelerFor the interested party: Fenella Morris QCSolicitors: For the claimant: HempsonsFor the defendant: CapsticksFor the interested party: Samuel Phillips
At present, hospital and other NHS services in England and Wales are undergoing a process of reconfiguration to ensure that
the best services are available at centres of excellence. Many of the proposals being considered are unpopular with patients
and are being challenged. In one such challenge, a consultation process relating to the proposed reduction in the number of
paediatric cardiac surgery centres in England was held to be so unfair as to be unlawful where the organisation responsible
for the consultation and decision making had failed to consider a material consideration. The case underlines the importance
of carrying out appropriate consultations, and taking all relevant matters into account in the process.